Gone underground: Longtime face of Iranian foreign policy Zarif exits stage as nuclear talks stall

He rose to prominence as the smooth, English-fluent mouthpiece of Iran’s theocratic regime.

Still, Mohammad Javad Zarif has largely gone underground since “retiring” from politics last year and ending his eight-year run as Iranian foreign minister.

Zarif has tweeted just six times this year.

Foreign policy analysts say no other Iranian figure comes close to matching Mr.

At the United Nations General Assembly this week, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi does not have Mr.

As head of Iran’s foreign ministry under Mr.

Raisi and President Biden will be at the New York gathering this week, but the Iranian leader on Sunday shot down the prospects for a face-to-face meeting, casting more doubt that the two sides can overcome domestic headwinds and reach a deal.

Biden] will be beneficial,” the hard-line Iranian president said in an interview with CBS’s “60 Minutes.”.

Raisi and Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian maintain close ties with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which the Pentagon says is directly linked to militias that regularly target American troops stationed in Iraq and Syria.

Zarif bemoaned the IRGC’s power over Iranian politics in leaked audio recordings that surfaced last year.

Zarif, defended the meetings with the Iranian foreign minister.

Zarif retains a loud voice behind the scenes and is attempting to shape political discourse through his relationships with foreign policy insiders at U.S.

Zarif to keep his relationships with U.S.

Zarif seems uniquely qualified for such a role.

His understanding of Western politics began long before he served as Iranian ambassador to the United Nations from 2005 to 2007 and during his eight years as foreign minister.

Zarif left Tehran to attend college in the U.S.

Zarif also proved especially adept at using social media to promote his point of view and to push a pro-Iran, often anti-Israel message.

Zarif.

He said the “Iranian foreign minister” wanted to revive talks with the U.S.

president said.

Zarif shot back directly at Mr.

“@realdonaldtrump is better advised to base his foreign policy comments & decisions on facts, rather than @FoxNews headlines or his Farsi translators,” Mr.

Zarif tweeted on Jan.

Zarif has tweeted just six times this year and just once since April

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